NASA's Parker Solar Probe, tasked with studying the Sun, achieved a milestone during its 17th close encounter with the Sun on September 27, in which it approached within 4.51 million miles of the solar surface at a historic speed, setting a new distance record. The probe is now sending back data related to solar winds' properties, structure, and behavior from this latest mission.
Fastest Human-Made Object
The Parker Solar Probe flew at a record-breaking speed of 394,736 mph near the Sun, making it the fastest human-made object in history. Michael Buckley, from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, shared on NASA's blog that the spacecraft was in good condition during the encounter, with all systems functioning as expected.
Since the Parker probe's launch in 2018, a team of around twelve physicists, engineers, and support personnel at Johns Hopkins has overseen the NASA mission, including the spacecraft's initial design and construction, which had a budget of $1.5 billion.
The high-speed probe has been continuously transmitting status data to mission operators at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, starting from October 1.
The probe's recent speed achievement was made possible by a gravity-assist flyby from Venus, which is positioned roughly 67,237,910 miles from the Sun. Parker completed its sixth Venus Flyby on August 21, covering over 67 million miles in just slightly more than a month.
In April 2021, the Parker Solar Probe encountered extreme temperatures of 2370°F and radiation levels 500 times stronger than what Earth experiences during its inaugural journey through the Sun's upper atmosphere.
Given the Sun's lack of a solid surface, the corona, a region rich in magnetic activity, takes center stage, and the probe's close examination of it offers valuable insights into understanding solar eruptions that can disrupt life on our planet.
Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, hailed the eighth solar flyby of the Parker Solar Probe as a remarkable milestone in solar science. This achievement not only deepens the understanding of the Sun's development and its impact on the Solar System but also enhances the knowledge of stars throughout the universe.
Parker Solar Probe's Last Seven Missions
The Parker Solar Probe continues its journey closer to the Sun, venturing into a region where scientists had long expected the intense solar heat to eradicate all dust particles.
There's even a possibility that the probe's imaging team may have already observed this phenomenon for the first time. In the upcoming orbits, the spacecraft will approach near enough to confirm this observation through direct electric field measurements.
Despite the extreme conditions it faces, the spacecraft is projected to endure until its planned disintegration. Ultimately, it will approach the Sun so closely that it will disintegrate, merging with the solar wind itself, a conclusion that space plasma physicist David Malaspina describes as having a certain poetic quality.
Having accomplished its 17th solar encounter, the Parker Solar Probe has seven more orbits scheduled for the examination of the Sun, extending its mission until the conclusion of 2024.
Following these final flybys, the probe's last mission will involve a gradual descent into the Sun's atmosphere, collecting data on solar winds until it vaporizes in the intense heat, culminating in a fitting ending to its remarkable journey.
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